12 Days of Christmas Stories 2019 – Day 6

Gratitude.

I spend a good amount of time in my car, and as a person who loves to continually learn I am often listening to podcasts. One in particular stood out to me tonight as I buckled down my thoughts around this email. My notes articulate that it’s not enough to merely feel gratitude, but one must express gratitude or it becomes a debt that needs to be paid.

The last 3 days have been, as one of my customers says, “Nothing short of wonderful.” Each year we spend a considerable amount of time prepping for and enjoying our open house events in each office. A chance for us to express our gratitude for the year and celebrate as we look to the year ahead.

Time and time again I hear “How do you get your team to do this?” or “Who does this decorating?” or “How do you get the team to want to do this” or some variation. The truth of the matter is, none of this is a requirement but rather the culture and passion of our Vision team coming to life. I am deeply grateful for our entire Vision family – I wish you could see the little things happening each day that create the culmination and celebratory event. I am beyond blessed for the opportunity to spend my days working alongside such talented, committed, and passionate folks.

I’m getting ahead of myself though, because in order for our team to even exist we need clients and candidates. I’m so grateful for the relationships and investment of time that you – our clients, candidates, and connections in the community share with us! Visiting with you, having a moment to give thanks in person, and really pause and remind ourselves that we’re all human and we’re all doing the best we can – that alone is worth celebrating 🙂

A great story that came from today; a stand-alone as is 🙂

“Mark has autism and struggles in social situations. It took a lot for him to come today. Before he left he told me how proud he was for coming and that he usually avoids these types of situations. He told me coming here he felt welcomed. He recognized a few faces from where he works, and he talked to a few of them! He took pictures (which he avoids) and stayed for about 30 mins! This was a huge step for him! To aid in his success in a role, he works with a career counselor who contacted us immediately after he left, stating ‘Mark called me about 20 min ago to report he went. I’m very impressed he did this but I’m even more impressed at how your company made Mark feel welcome!’” à When his recruiter told me this story, she was beaming. She said, “I called him every day this week to make sure he was going to come! I interview my people in person but then after that I don’t get to see them again – and I want to see them so they know how grateful I am to be able to work with them!”

Thoughts for pondering: If we focused on gratitude always, as a state of mind, how would it impact our lives?